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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. track — a song
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. spring — the season
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. ball — a dance
  11. track — to keep track
  12. spring — of water
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wax — to grow
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. track — a path
  20. clip — a video
  21. spring — a coil
  22. chair — a leader
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wax — in the ear

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com